


Powerless

by distractionpie



Series: Band Of Brothers Week [4]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Drabble, Episode: s01e08 The Last Patrol, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 07:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9872744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distractionpie/pseuds/distractionpie
Summary: Joe watches with a gun on the wrong side of the riverbank.Band of Brothers Week Day 4 - Memorable scene.





	

Waiting on the gun is drag. Whatever relief he felt about for once being a position of relative safety is quickly outweighed by his impatience at how slow they’re crossing the goddamn river; how slow they’re approaching the goddamn house; and now, after a brief burst of gunfire and explosions, how slow they're being inside.

It’s not that he wants the danger and he’s certainly got no stupid ideas left about glory, but he wants to be doing _something_.

He hadn’t even meant to get himself taken off. Sure, he'd been goading Webster, but Joe hadn't expected him to actually do anything about it. He'd mostly been hoping to knock some of the hospital shine and air of replacement from him, to remind Webster of how things were supposed to be. He hadn't thought Webster would take the bait, not when Joe hadn’t said anything that wasn't true - Webster was a notorious slacker, at least when it came to work he didn't agree with and how he'd managed Harvard Joe really isn't sure. But for some reason Webster had, and somehow he’d talked the officers into switching up the plan and leaving Joe stuck counting the seconds.

It might be safer off the patrol but it’s not any more restful, waiting in the darkness with his finger curled around the trigger. Finally, after a fucking age, there’s finally movement again as they make their way back out of the house. They’re moving slower that they should be and it takes him a moment to realise that two guys are being carried by others. They had better be fucking krauts, not any of his guys hurt. But at the same time if they're having to face the danger of slowing down he hopes it's not for a fucking kraut.

His finger tightens on the trigger, and he can feel the bite of cold metal as it digs in, but he can’t see shit that’s useful and he can do is strain for the sound of the whistle over the gunfire.

Until then, he’s powerless.


End file.
